| IOWA | 6 Electoral Votes |
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| Population
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Iowa Secretary of State)
Iowa has: 99 counties, 949 cities. Six largest counties (100,000-plus): Polk, Linn, Scott, Johnson, Black Hawk, Woodbury. Six largest cities: Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City, Iowa City, Waterloo. Government
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State of Iowa Secretary of State Republican
Party of IA Des
Moines
Register Iowa Starting
Line  The Hawkeye
State
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Oct. 5, 2020 - First day absentee ballots may be voted in the county auditor’s office. Under a directive signed by Secretary of State Paul Pate, every active registered voter will receive an absentee ballot request form (+). As in many other states, there was pre-election litigation over some details of absentee voting (+). Election Day Voters: 698,557 (41.1%). Absentee Voters: 1,001,573 (58.9%). |
Ballot Access For non-party political organizations (NPPO) candidates and candidates nominated by petition 1,500 signatures needed; must run as team; must collect signatures from at least 10 counties. [§45.1(1)] Filing period was July 27-Aug. 14, 2020. [§44.4(1)(b)] (+) |
Overview:
Iowa was seen
as a possible swing state but proved to be relatively
non-competitive. Biden did not do well in the Feb. 3 Democratic caucuses, finishing fourth,. Democrats pointed to high turnout in the June primary as grounds for optimism. However, Republican achieved steady gains in voter registration in the lead up to Nov. 3. Biden did not return to the state except for one visit in late October. In addition to visits and activity on the ground, both sides did a fair bit of advertising. There were several other factors of note. On Aug 5 Gov. Reynolds signed Executive Order 7, restoring voting rights for felons who have served their sentences (+). In addition to the effects of the pandemic, a derecho hit central and east central Iowa on Aug. 10, causing an estimated $4 billion in damage (>). On Nov. 3 Trump won by a plurality of 138,611 votes (9.00 percentage points), just slightly of from his 9.41 percentage point margin in 2016, As in 2016 Trump carried 93 counties; Biden carried the same six urban counties as Clinton (Polk, Story, Linn, Johnson, Scott and Black Hawk). All in all it was a good year for Republicans as they held on to a targeted U.S. Senate seat, flipped one or two U.S. House seats and picked up six State House seats. Trump | Biden || visits || advertising || D, allies | R [IASOS] BALLOT [PDF] |
| [State Primary: June 2, 2020] |
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| Democrats Popular vote (delegate %): Buttigieg 43,209 (26.2%), Sanders 45,652 (26.1%), Warren 34,909 (18.0%, Biden 23,605 (15.8%), Klobuchar 21,100 (12.3%))... details 49 Delegates: 27 District, 9 At-Large, 5 PLEO, 8 Unpledged. |
Republicans Trump 31,464 (97.1%), Others 499 (1.5%), Weld 426 (1.3%). |
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| 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 |
| Clinton 43.28% |
Clinton 50.26% |
Gore 48.54% |
Bush 49.90% |
Obama 53.93% |
Obama 51.99% |
Trump 51.15% |
and
the details...
| Voting Eligible
Population*:
2,290,215. VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 68.4%. Voter Pre-Registration Deadline: Oct. 29, 2016. By mail, must be postmarked Oct. 24. Iowa does have Election Day Registration > Early Voting: First day absentee ballots may be voted in county auditor’s offices is Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Continues through Monday, Nov. 7, 2016. SOS
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Overview:
Iowa was again a contested state, but the campaign was
not closely fought as in some of the other
battleground states. Trump and Pence spent considerably
more time in the state than did Clinton and
Kaine. When the votes were tallied Trump won with a
plurality of 147,314 votes (9.41 percentage points),
carrying 93 of 99 counties. The six counties
Clinton carried were all large urban counties (Polk,
Linn Scott, Johnson, Black Hawk and Story).
Statewide Clinton won in early voting, but as in
Florida, another battleground state, Trump "crushed
it" on Election Day (+). As in 2012 Iowa had the sixth highest turnout as a percentage of voting
eligilble population (after MN, NH, ME, CO and
WI). General Election Details Clinton | Trump BALLOT [PDF] |
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| Voting Eligible
Population*:
2,263,375. VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 69.9%. Voter Registration Deadline: Pre-registering in person October 23, 2012. By mail, must be received by October 27 or postmarked October 22. Early Voting: First day to vote in person in auditor’s office is Thursday, September 27, 2012. Continues through November 5. 741,771 absentee ballots were requested. 689,661 absentee ballots were received:
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2012 Overview Iowa was one of the battleground states. In the Nov. 2008 general election, Democrats had a registration edge of more than five percentage points; this time the margin was much narrower. After healthy investments of resources by both of the major campaigns, Obama won with a reduced plurality of 91,927 votes (5.81 percentage points), carrying 38 counties to 61 for Romney. Iowa had the sixth highest turnout as a percentage of voting eligilble population (after MN, WI, NH, CO and ME). General Election Details Obama | Romney BALLOT [PDF] |
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| Voting
Eligible Population*: 2,199,849. VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 69.9%. ...turnout rate fifth highest in the nation. Total Registration: 2,003,901. Rep. 592,397 (29.56%) Dem. 698,839 (34.87%) No-Party 711,705 (35.52%) Other 960. According to the Secretary of State, "Iowa has one of the top registration rates in the nation with 92-percent of voting-eligible Iowans registered to vote." According to the Secretary of State, county auditors received 557,000 absentee ballots. |
Under votes: 4,504 ...Total turnout: 1,546,453 |
2008 Overview In contrast to the very close races in 2004 and 2008, Obama won Iowa fairly comfortably, gaining a plurality of 146,561 votes (9.54 percentage points). Obama-Biden carried 53 counties to 46 for McCain-Palin. Turnout of 1.54 million surpassed the 2004 record of 1.52 million. General Election Details Obama/Allies | McCain/Allies | Nader |
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| Voting Eligible Population*:
2,156,389. VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 69.9%. Registration: Rep. 609,046 (30.89%) Dem. 601,388 (30.50%) No-Party 761,301 (38.61%)... Total 1,971,735. Early voting begins and absentee ballots mailed starting: September 23, 2004. Voter registration deadline: October 23, 2004 |
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2004 Overview Iowans saw much of Sen. Kerry during the caucuses campaign. Kerry later gave close consideration to Gov. Tom Vilsack as a potential running mate. In the closing weeks of the campaign the candidates and surrogates made frequent visits. When the votes were counted, Iowa had flipped Republican; Bush-Cheney narrowly won with a plurality of 10,059 votes (0.67 percentage points). Bush carried 67 counties to Kerry's 32. 191,345 more votes were cast in the presidential race than in 2000. General Election Details | Photos Kerry/Allies | Bush-Cheney '04 |
| General Election -- Tuesday, November 7, 2000 |
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Voting Eligible Population*:
2,082,950.
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2000
Overview The Gore-Lieberman ticket eked out a narrow win, finishing with a plurality of just 4,144 votes (0.32 percentage points). Bush carried 68 counties to Gore's 31. Typically in Iowa Democratic candidates do well East of I-35, the main North-South highway, and Republicans do well in the West. This held true in 2000 as Bush swept all counties in the Western-most quarter of the state, while Gore did well in counties along the Mississippi River in the East, as well as in the Des Moines-Fort Dodge and Mason City areas. General Election Activity |
| 1992 and 1996 General Elections |
| Archive Pages: 2016 | 2012 | 2008 | 2004 | 2000 | 1992
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1996
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| Copyright © 2002-2020 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action. |
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